Press File PhotoEast Kentwood High School students sing at Bowen Elementary School in 2006, for Black History Month. They pulled the kids out of the audience at the end of the assembly and made them a part of their choir of voices.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Black History month kicks off today, and there are plenty of events taking place throughout February at Grand Valley State University where the public can learn about contributions blacks have made to American history.

The events, sponsored by GVSU’s Office of Multicultural Affairs, start Thursday, with a 4 p.m. presentation at the Kirkhof Center by 1968 Summer Olympic medalist John Carlos and David Zirin, an acclaimed sports writer.

Here’s a look at other events taking place throughout the month:

• February 11, 10 a.m.-noon: As a way to help the community, students, faculty and staff are invited to volunteer at Met Trotter Ministries in Grand Rapids and Guiding Light Mission in Jenison.

• February 17, from noon-1 p.m. in the lobby of the Kirkhof Center: Students can taste and learn about traditional African-American soul food.

• February 22, from noon-1 p.m. in room 2270 at the Kirkhof Center: GVSU Philosophy professor Dwayne Tunstall will explore how Africana and moral philosophy, religious ethics and classical American philosophy can “complement one another when thinking about issues of moral agency, personal identity, race and legacy of Western modernity.”

• February 23, from noon-1 p.m. in the Pere Marquette Room at the Kirkhof Center: H. James Williams, dean of GVSU’s Seidman College of Business, will discuss American business and “ways to assure that diversity and inclusion resonate at the ‘business’ level of organizations.”

• February 24, from 7-9p.m. at the Loosemore Auditorium at GVSU’s Pew Grand Rapids Campus. West Michigan-based SOULTRY Entertainment will perform an R&B, blues and jazz music concert.

• February 28, from noon-1p.m., at the Pere Marquette Room at the Kirkhof Center: Diane Nash, will speak about her experience coordinating the Freedom Ride from Birmingham to Mississippi, which was documented in the recent PBS documentary, “Freedom Riders.”

For more information, contact GVSU’s Office of Multicultural Affairs at (616) 331-2177 or visit www.gvsu.edu/oma.